‘La Traviata’ at San Diego Opera: Grand Opera in the Modern World

Andriana Chuchman and Zach Borichevsky in "La Traviata" by the San Diego Opera in 2025. J. Katarzyna Woronowicz/San Diego Opera

On the final weekend of April, San Diego Opera (SDO) concluded its 2024–2025 season with three performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata.” It’s quite appropriate that the company ended its triumphant 60th season with a production of the most-performed opera in the world. Having performed in this opera myself last year, but never seen it live, I was excited to see this production.

The closing show of “La Traviata” was the fourth SDO performance I’ve seen during the last three seasons. I thoroughly enjoyed all three previous productions I watched, finding very little to criticize in terms of artistry, beauty, and, most importantly, traditionalism. While “La Traviata” also had many of these qualities, I was surprised by some aspects of the production.

A Grand Opera

The word “opera” often has the adjective “grand” attached to it. Those not well-versed in the art form might automatically picture huge theaters, massive orchestras, lavish sets, opulent costumes, and large voices to match the large figures on the stage. People who are more familiar with opera’s nuances will recognize that this description is just one facet of this multi-dimensional art form. Nevertheless, the grand opera is a very important part of the classical singing tradition, yet one which is becoming increasingly rare. The grand Italian opera is well-represented by the dramatic masterpieces of Giuseppe Verdi, such as “La Traviata.”

“La Traviata” means “The Fallen Woman” in Italian, and it was inspired by the 1852 French play “La dame aux camélias” (“The Lady of the Camellias”) by Alexandre Dumas fils, which in turn was based on his own 1848 novel. If you’re familiar with the 1936 Greta Garbo film “Camille,” the play of the same name, or the ballet “Marguerite and Armand,” you’ll recognize this as the same story.

Andriana Chuchman and Zach Borichevsky in "La Traviata" by the San Diego Opera in 2025. J. Katarzyna Woronowicz/San Diego Opera

Violetta Valéry (soprano) is Paris’s most popular courtesan, although she is frequently absent from society because of worsening tuberculosis. At a party, she meets an ardent young man from a wealthy family, Alfredo Germont (tenor), who proclaims his love for her. After initially laughing off his sincere adoration, she finally agrees to let herself truly love and be loved. She moves to a country cottage with Alfredo, where they spend three joyful months together while her health flourishes. However, Alfredo’s father, Giorgio (baritone), arrives to implore Violetta to give up Alfredo, since their immoral relationship is threatening his virtuous daughter’s engagement. Violetta agrees, but Alfredo is distraught because he believes she has left him for a wealthier man. Love is not enough to sanctify their unholy union or save Violetta from certain death.

Choreographing a Tragedy

Few regional American opera companies can afford to produce grand operas in the extravagant manner that tradition suggests. This privilege is reserved for the bigger opera houses, which means Los Angeles Opera and San Diego Opera here in Southern California. SDO’s production was spearheaded by director/choreographer Kyle Lang, whose personal performing experience was as a featured dancer in operas rather than a singer. This background was evident from the overture, when the solemn procession of the heroine’s coffin was followed by an interpretive dance performed by six dancers. Traditionally, there is no action onstage during the overture, but Lang (who stated that he usually likes an overture to be just music) visualized this scene as a terpsichorean prologue representing the status of the titular “fallen woman.” These six dancers (one woman and five men) would pop up two more times.

Tzytle Steinman with the cast of "La Traviata" by the San Diego Opera in 2025. J. Katarzyna Woroniwicz/San Diego Opera

The three previous SDO productions I’ve seen featured large sets and elaborate, multi-layered backdrops to create realistic depth. The opening scene of 2023’s “Tosca” was so 3-dimensional that I could scarcely believe it was on a stage rather than in a Gothic Italian cathedral. Unfortunately, the illusion was not so convincing in “La Traviata.” It was extremely obvious that the backdrop was just a projection, and the set consisted of three tiered metal platforms which formed steps and a few pieces of furniture in each scene. The dim lighting, muted background, and sparse set dressings in the party scenes didn’t suggest the opulence and gaiety of Parisian nightlife. For the scene in the country, they used just part of the stage, perhaps to create the atmosphere of a small room. The final scene of Violetta’s deathbed was the most visually impacting, but I found the way she was staged to crawl around on the bed while singing rather distracting, albeit impressive vocally.

At an artist panel after the show, general director David Bennett described SDO’s ongoing goal to have less “stuff” onstage. Kyle Lang elaborated that he wants performers to have freedom to move onstage without the hindrance of clutter, which makes sense considering his dance background. Speaking of dance, it’s standard for the second party scene to feature dancing during two chorus numbers, which describe Gypsy fortune tellers and Spanish matadors. During the female chorus song, the chorus ladies and female dancer did some simple dance moves. The big dance number was the male chorus, which is usually led vocally by supporting tenor Gastone. In this version, Gastone was the soloist in the dance with the female dancer, playing the matador while the male dancers played the five bulls in the text. Felipe Prado, the tenor playing Gastone, showed an impressive amount of flair and coordination, especially because his only dance experience is a little operatic waltzing. In fact, he did so well that it seemed like a waste of talent to have five highly trained professional dancers, who are in demand and expensive when hired as freelancers like this, to do basic stage movements that five chorus singers could easily have handled. It wasn’t until their final appearance as ghostly Carnival revelers dancing through Violetta’s chambers that their dance ability could be seen, although the inclusion of this gothic dance moment was confusing.

Hunter Enoch in "La Traviata" by the San Diego Opera in 2025. J. Katarzyna Woronowicz/San Diego Opera

Beautiful Singing

It’s easy to focus on a production’s negatives, but there was a lot to love about SDO’s “La Traviata.” More than sets, staging, costumes, or choreography, the most important thing in an opera is the collaborative effort of making music. In this regard, this production excelled. The orchestra, the San Diego Symphony under the baton of SDO resident conductor Yves Abel, sounded superb from start to finish. The chorus was impressively strong, accurate, and unified.

The three leads were very professional and pleasing to the eyes as well as the ears, since they are all more youthful and fit-looking than many opera singers. It was especially refreshing to see a slender, beautiful Violetta, whose lithe arms and fair complexion made her convincing as the frail, consumptive heroine. I especially enjoyed the performance of Hunter Enoch, the bass-baritone who played Germont. His resonant voice and commanding stage presence were powerful in this complex role.

Overall, this was an excellent production from a wonderful opera company. They have announced that their productions next season will be three of the most classic operas, “Pagliacci,” “The Barber of Seville,” and “Carmen.” I applaud them for keeping old masterpieces like this trio and “La Traviata” alive and on stage. I hope that the company will continue creating traditional stagings for these beautiful works and make the most of all their resources (including specialty dancers).